Man Held In Student's Slaying Apologizes

``i Didn't Mean For This To Happen,'' The Suspect Told Police. The Victim May Have Had An Aneurysm.

December 11, 1998|By Lynne Bumpus-Hooper and Mike Berry of The Sentinel Staff

The man accused of killing a University High School student with one punch asked an investigator to apologize to the boy's family and said, ``I didn't mean for this happen.''

Meanwhile, medical examiners are trying to determine if an aneurysm or other medical condition contributed to the unusual death of 16-year-old junior Mark Anthony Thornton just after school Wednesday. The results could influence what kind of charges are made against Omar Sharif Witt.

Witt, 20, of Orlando was charged with second-degree murder and ordered held in the Seminole County Jail without bail Thursday.

Witt is accused of striking Thornton in the temple during a quarrel in the school parking lot. Witt was arrested in Winter Springs about seven hours after the incident.

When Orange County Sheriff's investigator Riggs Gay talked to Witt on Wednesday night, Witt invoked his Fifth Amendment right to be silent, Sgt. Ron Corlew said.

``But he did ask Riggs to do him a favor. He said, `Please tell the family I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen,''' Corlew said.

That remorse appeared to be reflected in Witt's demeanor as he made his first court appearance Thursday afternoon before a Seminole County judge. Witt sat with shoulders hunched and his head cradled in his manacled hands.

Preliminary autopsy results were inconclusive about the cause of death, but massive hemorrhaging in the head suggested a possible cerebral aneurysm, Corlew said. Additional laboratory tests were ordered.

An aneurysm is a widening of the blood vessel that can rupture, causing extensive bleeding and death.

``There could be a pre-existing condition, like an aneurysm, that the impact of either the fist or the ground caused to blow. That's what they are checking,'' Corlew said.

The cause of death could have an impact on the charges filed by the State Attorney's Office, because murder charges generally hinge on intent to harm or kill.

More details emerged Thursday about the school fight.

According to Corlew, Thornton had been threatened earlier in the day by the brother of a female student in the same parking lot. Corlew said Thornton and the student, 18, had a running dispute.

When the brother picked up his sister at school about 1:45 p.m., the brother and Thornton again exchanged words. The brother was with two co-workers, one of whom was Witt.

The dispute was about to end, with Thornton and the brother both turning to walk away, when another student shouted out a racial slur, investigators said.

Witt, who is black, thought Thornton, who is white, made the slur.

According to a police report, Thornton replied, ``No. Man, I don't even know you,'' at which point the suspect said something like, ``I don't care,'' and struck him.

University High students downplayed the racial overtones Thursday, noting that the girl and her brother who were confronting Thornton also were white.

A woman at Witt's home, who identified herself as his aunt, said Thursday that Witt did not intend to get into trouble at the school and was just catching a ride home from work with the other men.

She said she talked to Witt on Thursday.

``He's not a violent person,'' the woman said, refusing to give her name. ``He's been crying. He's really upset.''

Witt, a construction worker, dropped out of University High School in 1995, according to school records.

School district officials heightened security at University High on Thursday with the presence of extra security officers, deputies and administrators from other schools.

While the school tried to conduct business as usual, junior Sarah Dukes said her teachers abandoned regular lessons to allow students to reflect on the tragedy.

``Everyone was in a daze,'' Dukes said. ``Everyone was in a weird mood.''

Hundreds of students waited until television crews left to gather in a circle in the school's bus ramp after the last lunch period, where they held hands and observed a few minutes of silence for Thornton. A black student and white student who knew Thornton said a few words on his behalf.

``People who didn't even know him, they were crying,'' Dukes said. ``He was part of University. He was a Cougar.''

Students raised money for the boy's family and placed flowers around a campus tree where he liked to unwind.

About 400 of the school's 3,800 students sought counseling Thursday to deal with the slaying.

The fatal fight has rekindled concerns about after-school security at schools.

High schools carefully screen visitors during the school day. But they can't do the same after school, when hundreds of people are arriving on campuses to pick up students or attend after-school activities, said Mike Ganio, security manager for the school district.

Once school is over, campus basketball courts, fields and other outdoor facilities typically are open to the public until dusk, and there is no security.

``Anything after school, any practice situation, you're wide open,'' said one Orange County coach, who asked not to be identified. ``You may be the only adult on the premise.''

The school district planned to assign the issue to a school district research and trouble-shooting team, Ganio said.

Winter Springs police credited Witt's quick apprehension to good police work and a holiday policing program that puts more cops on the street.

Lt. Chris Deisler responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle and recognized Witt's car from a description broadcast by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said Winter Springs police Capt. Mike Noland.

Deisler approached Witt at a Handy Way Food Store, where he was taken into custody about 8:30 p.m.

The police department puts extra police officers on the road from the start of December through the New Year, Noland said.